1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic tape and a magnetic tape device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetic recording media are divided into tape-shaped magnetic recording media and disk-shaped magnetic recording media, and tape-shaped magnetic recording media, that is, magnetic tapes (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “tapes”) are mainly used for data storage such as data back-up or archive. The recording of information into magnetic tape is normally performed by recording a magnetic signal on a data band of the magnetic tape. Accordingly, data tracks are formed in the data band.
An increase in recording capacity (high capacity) of the magnetic tape is required in accordance with a great increase in information content in recent years. As means for realizing high capacity, a technology of disposing the larger amount of data tracks in a width direction of the magnetic tape by narrowing the width of the data track to increase recording density is used.
However, when the width of the data track is narrowed and the recording and/or reproduction of magnetic signals is performed by allowing the running of the magnetic tape in a magnetic tape device (normally referred to as a “drive”), it is difficult that a magnetic head correctly follows the data tracks in accordance with the position change of the magnetic tape in the width direction, and errors may easily occur at the time of recording and/or reproduction. Thus, as means for preventing occurrence of such errors, a system using a head tracking servo using a servo signal (hereinafter, referred to as a “servo system”) has been recently proposed and practically used (for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,384A).